Furnace-door opener



No. 6|I,3l0. Patented Sept. 27, I898.

J. G. ANTBIM.

FURNACE DOOR OPENER.

(Application filed May 9, 1898.)

( N o M o d e l A m: cams PEYERS co. moraumo" WASHINGTON. u. c.

" NITED STATES JOHN G. ANTRIM,

Enron.

or TRAER, IOWA.

FURNACE-DOOR OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,310, dated September 27, 1898.

' Application filed May 9, 1898. Serial No. 680,087. (No model.)

To all whom) it may concern.-

Be it knownjthat 1, JOHN G. ANTRIM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Traer, in the county of Tama and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Furnace-Door Openers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the stoking of steam-boiler furnaces by providing means for the quick opening and closing of the furnace-door and without the use ofthe stokers hands in the operation.

The invention consists, essentially, in the use of a foot-lever and a connection thereof with the furnace-door whereby the door is thrown open by pressing down on the footlever and is closed by its own gravity.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 illustrates an ordinary boiler and furnace-front provided with my improved means for opening the f urnace-door. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front view showing an enlarged and partly-sectional view of the lower part of the furnace-door and the upper end of the foot-lever connection.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes the front of an ordinary boiler-furnace, the only essential modification therein being in the outward and inclined projection A of the stoke-hole, which is closed by the feed-door A This admits of the door swinging back to close by gravity alone, provided the opening thereof is not greater than at right angles to its closed position. To the furnace-front is hinged in the ordinaryway the door A to close the stoke-hole already mentioned, and

also the usual ash-door A In the lower edge provide the upper end of the connecting-rod wit-h a suitable ball or head 13 to engage a corresponding socket in the furnace-door and also provide for adjustment in the length of the connecting-rod, as by the use of two rods, and a suitable clamp B by-Which the rods are connected together at any desired extension by means of a set-screw 13 To prevent the door from swinging too far backwardly, as well as to give it an initial impulse to close, a coil-spring F is mounted on the door-pivot G, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and-3. By this arrangement and construction it is possible for a stoker to fire his furnace without having to stop and open the furnace-door either by hand or by the use of his shovel or poker or to consume a correspondas the operator lifts his foot from the foot lever, and this may be done the instant the charge of fuel is thrown in, so that the furnace-door remains open only the shortest length of time, a feature which is of course extremely desirable in the stoking of steamfurnaces.

The device, as will be seen, is extremely simple in its construction and operation and is of such a character as to be easily and cheaply applied to furnace-doors in general use as well as to be built as a component part by manufacturers of furnace-fronts. It will also be observed that the construction is such that the connecting-rod may be easily detached from the furnace-door and swing down and out of the way in using the ash-door below.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a furnace-front having an inclined feed-door hinged thereto with a foot-lever pivoted on a suitable fulcrum and '"a connection of the inner end of the foot-lever with said'furnace-door, whereby the door is opened by depressing the outer end of the lever, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a furnace-front having an inclined outwardly-projecting stokehole, a door hinged adjacent thereto, and pro vided with a socket in the under edge thereof, a foot-lever fulcrumed near the floor, and

foot-lever, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. [0

I11 testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN G. ANTRIM.

a connection of one end of the foot-lever with said socket, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of an inclined furnace- 5 door adapted to close Wholly or partially by gravity, a foot-lever f ulerulned near the floor,

lVitnesses and an extensible connecting-rod engaging a i R. A. OAMERY, socket in the furnace-door and one end of the A. M. GLAZE. 

